creative writing

Out of the Blue and Onto the Page: How Translation Rekindled My Passion for Writing
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Out of the Blue and Onto the Page: How Translation Rekindled My Passion for Writing

When my mother, born in America to Israeli parents, first met my father in Tel Aviv, she said she knew he was right for her because he was an American living in Israel. As a young woman who grew up in transit—constantly being moved around between the two countries—she recognized in him a kindred spirit:…

Woman in black and white standing in front of a wall with a graph to "success" on it

The Ploughshares Round-Down: Stop Fearing the Business of Writing

Last week, Guernica published an interview with art critic Ben Davis, which begins with Davis questioning the premise that “the central tension of the art empire is that between creativity and money.” Davis says there can obviously be tension between what sells and what an artist wants to express, but he argues that money also funds innovative creative work. “If things were…

Students sitting around a table with notebooks and pens.

Back to School Special: Thoughtful Imitation

  I didn’t study creative writing as an undergraduate; it wasn’t an option. When I enrolled in the MFA program at University of Washington, what I craved more than workshop (which I’d experienced a few times in continuing education settings) was the elusive “craft” class: reading analytically not to make an argument about literature (which…